Rapla KK

Rapla KK, also known as Avis Utilitas Rapla for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball club based in Rapla, Estonia. The team plays in the Latvian–Estonian Basketball League. Their home arena is the Sadolin Sports Hall.

Avis Utilitas Rapla
LeaguesLatvian–Estonian Basketball League
Founded2004 (2004)
HistoryRapla KK
(2004–present)
ArenaSadolin Sports Hall
Capacity818[1]
LocationRapla, Estonia
Team colorsRed, White
   
PresidentJaak Karp
Head coachToomas Annuk
Websiteraplakk.ee

History

In 1996, Korvpalliklubi Rapla (Basketball Club Rapla) was founded as a division of the Rapla Sports School. Rapla Korvpallikool (Rapla Basketball School) was formed in 2004.[2]

In 2010, Rapla moved to the new Sadolin Sports Hall and were promoted to the top-tier Korvpalli Meistriliiga (KML). Coached by Indrek Ruut, they finished the 2010–11 regular season in sixth place and reached the playoffs, where they were eliminated in the quarterfinals by TTÜ/Kalev, losing the series 1 game to 3. In 2011, Rapla joined the Challenge Cup competition of the regional Baltic Basketball League (BBL) for the 2011–12 season, but failed to advance past the group stage. In 2012, Rapla reached the Estonian Cup final, but lost to Rakvere Tarvas 64–81.[3]

In 2014, Aivar Kuusmaa was hired as head coach. The team finished the 2014–15 regular season in third place. In the 2015 KML Playoffs, Rapla defeated Valga in the quarterfinals, but lost to Kalev and finished third after beating Rakvere Tarvas 2 games to 1 in the third place games. Rapla finished third again in the 2015–16. The team finished the 2016–17 regular season in third place with Thomas van der Mars being named Most Valuable Player (MVP). In the 2017 KML Playoffs, Rapla defeated Valga 3 games to 0 in the quarterfinals and University of Tartu 3 games to 1 in the semifinals, reaching the finals for the first time in their history, but lost the series to Kalev 0 games to 4.

Sponsorship naming

The team has had several denominations through the years due to its sponsorship:

  • Piimameister Otto/Rapla: 2010–2012
  • TYCO Rapla: 2012–2015
  • AVIS Rapla: 2015–2017
  • AVIS UTILITAS Rapla: 2017–present

Home arenas

Players

Current roster

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.

Avis Utilitas Rapla roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.NameHt.Wt.Age
C 0 Mompremier, Wadly 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) 104 kg (229 lb) 27 – (1993-12-19)19 December 1993
SG 4 Ruut, Marek 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 22 – (1998-04-02)2 April 1998
SG 6 Veideman, Rain (C) 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) 90 kg (198 lb) 29 – (1991-10-01)1 October 1991
SG 8 Ruubel, Markus 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) 18 – (2002-02-08)8 February 2002
PF 11 Žalys, Paulius 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) 95 kg (209 lb) 25 – (1995-09-24)24 September 1995
PG 14 Ilves, Gregor 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) 22 – (1999-01-13)13 January 1999
C 21 Mickelson, Hunter 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 111 kg (245 lb) 28 – (1992-03-05)5 March 1992
PF 22 Kajupank, Indrek 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) 100 kg (220 lb) 32 – (1988-05-15)15 May 1988
C 23 Delph, Ronald 2.10 m (6 ft 11 in) 111 kg (245 lb) 27 – (1993-03-29)29 March 1993
PF 24 Jonāts, Ervīns 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 98 kg (216 lb) 29 – (1991-02-10)10 February 1991
PG 25 Hawkins, Dominique 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) 87 kg (192 lb) 26 – (1994-06-27)27 June 1994
SF 36 Valge, Risto 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) 21 – (1999-11-01)1 November 1999
SG 45 Kaldre, Sven 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in) 87 kg (192 lb) 29 – (1991-10-31)31 October 1991
Head coach
  • Toomas Annuk
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Injured
Updated: 16 January 2019

Depth chart
Pos. Starting 5 Bench 1 Bench 2 Bench 3
C Hunter Mickelson Ronald Delph Wadly Mompremier
PF Indrek Kajupank Ervīns Jonāts
SF Risto Valge
SG Rain Veideman Sven Kaldre Marek Ruut Markus Ruubel
PG Dominique Hawkins Gregor Ilves

Coaches
  • Indrek Ruut 2010–2014
  • Aivar Kuusmaa 2014–2018
  • Toomas Annuk 2019–present

Season by season
Season Tier Division Pos. W–L Estonian Cup Baltic Basketball League
2008–09 3II liiga 1st 23–3
2009–10 2I liiga 2nd 16–8
2010–11 1Korvpalli Meistriliiga 6th 14–22 Quarterfinalist
2011–12 1Korvpalli Meistriliiga 4th 17–19 Quarterfinalist BBL Challenge CupRS2–8
2012–13 1Korvpalli Meistriliiga 4th 18–19 Runners-up Baltic Basketball LeagueRS1–9
2013–14 1Korvpalli Meistriliiga 7th 10–23 Quarterfinalist Baltic Basketball LeagueRS3–9
2014–15 1Korvpalli Meistriliiga 3rd 23–14 Quarterfinalist Baltic Basketball LeagueT163–7
2015–16 1Korvpalli Meistriliiga 3rd 24–16 Round of 16 Baltic Basketball LeagueT168–6
2016–17 1Korvpalli Meistriliiga 2nd 23–15 Quarterfinalist Baltic Basketball LeagueT168–6
2017–18 1Korvpalli Meistriliiga 3rd 21–17 Baltic Basketball LeagueQF5–7

Trophies and awards

Trophies

Estonian Championship

Estonian Cup

  • Runners-up (1): 2012

Individual awards

References
  1. "Sadolin Spordihoone" (in Estonian). Spordiregister.ee.
  2. "Ajalugu" (in Estonian). Rapla KK.
  3. "Tarvas võitis korvpalli Eesti karika" (in Estonian). Postimees Sport. 22 December 2012.
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